Godforsaken
by Alleged-Desolate
Summary: Ever wonder what might have happened if Light and Misa had never gotten their memories back? Well, this is one idea... Death Note - Includes all main characters if not in the beginning, then later
1. Narrowly Avoided

**Godforsaken**

**Chapter One** - Narrowly Avoided

**Notes: **This story, not necessarily this chapter, contains: spoilers, violence, death, and minor language.

**I do not own Death Note or any of it's characters.**

Everything was going according to plan. Light and L had taken to the skies by helicopter, and were now in hot pursuit of Kyosuke Higuchi, the man who had been killing off enemies of the Yotsuba Company through means known only to Kira. Even though it was obvious that L still suspected him, Light was glad that the case was finally nearing its end.

He had been so frustrated by L's attempts at keeping Light under constant observation. Not only was he angry at the lack of freedom, but also the lack of comfort. Everywhere L went, so did Light. He had absolutely no say in what they did either.

This had taken its toll on his body. Nearly every night was spent searching through files or starring at computer screens until early the next day. Slowly Light's body had grown accustomed to the lack of sleep and movement, but that didn't make it any better.

He still had the dilemma of sleeping arrangements with L. While L occupied the only bed in their room, Light slept on the floor with only a thin blanket for warmth (Although he naturally slept in his clothes). He felt that this was probably more comfortable than sleeping under the covers with L.

But all of it was finally going to end. He could barely hold in his excitement as they flew across the city, search light beaming on the stretch of highway beneath them. Ahead of them a cluster of flashing red and blue lights appeared. In their midst, a sleek black car with its door ajar.

Quickly, L guided the copter toward the site, stopping their descent only a few feet from the asphalt below. They hovered there as they watched the situation evolve. Higuchi was soon bounded and was now being dragged from the car, yelling and flailing wildly. As one of the masked policemen started toward the car in an attempt to search its content, it suddenly burst into a ragging torrent of flames. Light gasped as the flames licked the car's surface, readily consuming it whole. A feeling of disappointment flooded him as he watched, the orange of the flames reflected in his eyes.

- - - - - - - - -

Light sat in a hard metal chair, arms crossed and eyes closed in an attempt to clear his mind. It had been a week after the capture of 'Kira'. From what they had heard from Higuchi, he had been using a sort of notebook to kill enemies of Yotsuba, and that it had been owned by a Shinigami possessing him. Apparently, the god of death was what had given him the ability to collect the names of men without having to resort to menial measures.

Write the name of someone in the notebook, and they will die.

This was what he was supposed to believe? After all their hard work, all they got was some deranged and unbelievable explanation?! They had no evidence of this notebook or any mythical creature that might be lurking nearby. It was obvious that Higuchi had been insane, but this only made him feel as though the win had lost most of its value. Light sighed heavily and put his head into his hands. To make things worse, their one and only suspect had died only 26 hours after his capture. The cause, he was told, was heart attack.

"I see you are also having troubling thoughts."

Light's head shot up to face L, who had just walked into the room. L had mercifully removed the handcuffs only a few days ago, and Light had been thoroughly enjoying his new found freedom. After considering the man for a moment, Light nodded.

"It just…doesn't feel right. Almost like there's something we're missing."

"I, too, feel the same." L entered the room, hands in pockets and back hunched over.

Light crossed his arms. "Yeah, but that's because you still think I'm Kira."

"Yes, that is also true," mumbled L.

L pulled up a revolving computer chair and sat himself down beside Light. He grabbed an Oreo from a small box and slid it into his mouth, watching Light thoughtfully. It was a moment before he spoke again.

"What are you planning on doing after you return home? Are you going to finish your college term?" L glanced down toward the blue box but quickly returned his gaze to Light.

Light considered him for a moment, wondering a little about L's sudden interest in his personal life. He gazed back at the man as he thought. L had both his knees against his chest and was wearing his oh so famous set of clothes: a loose fitting white shirt with long sleeves that reached his wrists and baggy jeans which partially concealed his bare feet which were clutching the edge of his seat.

"Probably. I still want to have a position in the police department, so I kind of have to go through with college, don't I?" Light responded keeping his gaze on L.

"Yes, it would be the only way you could ever hope to enter the department," mumbled L.

L had now turned his full attention onto his Oreo box, delicately pulling out the cookies as if they might crumble at the smallest provocation.

A silence fell onto the room broken only by the scraping of cookie on cardboard. Light watched L for a while longer then closed his eyes once more, attempting to sort out thoughts racing through his head. This proved a hard thing to do, as the silence surrounding was so utterly loud.

"Do you have feelings for Misa, Light-kun?"

This question was sudden and caught Light off guard, making him lapse into an uncontrollable fit of coughing. After a moment or two, he got a hold of himself and answered, voice shaking noticeably.

"You could say that." He retorted slowly in a voice slightly higher than his own. "But not the kind of feelings you might be thinking of. I'm sorry if this sounds cruel, but I'll be glad once I'm rid of her."

L raised an eyebrow, but did not shift his eyes from his treats.

"I see. Then maybe…" His voice faded away before he could finish.

- - - - - - - - -

L sat there for a moment, sifting through his options. There had been no deaths since Higuchi's capture, and Light Yagami had remained at his side. Misa had also continued on with her normal but rather annoying behavior, which had intensified since Light-kun's release. L could simply go back to England with Watari. This seemed the best and most obvious decision.

But there was something nudging the edge of his mind. A tiny voice inside L's head told him that he shouldn't leave quite like that. It hinted at the man sitting next to him, and seemed to grin with delight when L had caught on.

Surely, though, after all that had happened this would be a bad decision!

The thought bared its teeth in disagreement.

_But you know you want to. He would surely say yes._

No, he would not. I cannot ignore his intelligence, or that he—

_He's grown on you! _

Yes, well, even so. -L faltered.- I'm certain he is, or was, Kira. He could very well turn against me.

The thought gave him a steely glare, but no the less purred and waved its tail ominously.

_He won't, and you know it. He's a good person. Give him the chance to prove himself._

L sighed. He knew his conscience was right. Even so, he didn't feel comfortable allowing Light-kun to invade his personal life. But no matter how hard he thought, he knew that he would eventually ask Yagami-kun. Every time he had made up his mind not to, the thought retorted quickly, always giving a better reason than his.

Finally, he decided that he would indeed ask. L could only hope that Light-kun would reject his offer so he could be on his way with a healthy, or at least satisfied, conscience.


	2. November Fifth

**Godforsaken**

**Chapter Two** - November Fifth

**Notes: **This story, not necessarily this chapter, contains: spoilers, violence, death, and minor language.

**I do not own Death Note or any of it's characters.**

Everybody had been invited. Well, everyone who had been involved in the solving of the Kira case.

It wasn't so much a party as a lazy get together. Today was L's last day in Japan as well. Couches had been placed in the headquarters' lobby and tables had been put up, which held large amounts of sweets and finger foods. L had taken a seat close to one such table to which he would occasionally snatch a strawberry or maybe a cookie.

There was no music, just the muffled discussion of the past year. There were no decorations, just a splash of color that was Misa.

This was the end of a job well done, or so L was told.

- - - - - - - -

Light grimaced slightly as a small hand found its way onto his shoulder.

He feigned a glad-to-see-you-could-make-it smile as Misa made to sit next to him.

She hesitated, then seemed to decide it better to sit in the leathery seat across from him. Misa smiled at Light for a moment, but it seemed forced, even pained. It only took a few more moments for it to slip into a small frown, as it seemed too hard to continue acting when she was so obviously upset.

The smile slid from Light's face as well. "Hey…is everything alright?"

"Well…" Misa faltered and took a deep, quivering breath. "No. I know that you never really cared for me, and this will probably be the last time I see you so I…" She gave a small sigh and seemed to sink into her chair a little.

Light sat there for a moment, stunned. He quickly shook himself mentally and replied.

"You're right." The words were spilling from his mouth, and he was unable to stop himself. "I never loved you. I don't like being clinged to and constantly toyed with. I'm glad you finally noticed that." He gave up any attempt to make amends and decided to continue.

"I think you're nice enough. Just not…my type of…person…Misa, please don't look at me like that…"

Tears were now swelling in the blondes eyes and were threatening to fall. Misa was holding her arms against her body and shivering, but nobody else in the room seemed to take notice. Light thanked them for that.

"I…I…know."

She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled, a true smile. The tension from the air seemed to melt a little as Misa regained a hold on herself.

"I know. It's just…when I really like someone, I can…" The small figure nodded her head from side to side slightly. "Act differently. It makes me want to do anything to please them. Sometimes I can lose myself in the characters I become…"

Light was now kind of lost. Not only was Misa stringing together sentences in a proper way, but they seemed to be from a different person altogether. All his annoyance for her seemed to slip away through his feet.

"You mean…you've been…not…well, you?" The question sounded stupid even in his head, and much more coming out of his mouth.

"Yeah." Misa giggled lightly and gave a small hiccup before continuing. "Can we start over? I would really like to just know you."

The blonde turned her head toward the left, blushing fervently.

"I would actually really like that." The words escaped his mouth before Light could stop them. This seemed to be happening a lot lately, and he didn't even really mean it this time.

Misa turned her focus back to him, smiling radiantly. For some reason, this made Light feel happy. Maybe it was because his mind ached for something new and different. Or maybe he just wanted to feel satisfied with the world for once.

And just as he had started to enjoy this new-found and rather out of place contentedness, a familiar voice sliced through the air, causing an odd shiver to run down his spine.

"Hello, Light-kun."

- - - - - - - - -

L stood next to Light, his thumb at the edge of his mouth, and a small smile on his face.

He had not expected something quite this interesting to occur this day. Well, he did, but not this.

Absentmindedly pulling an empty chair toward him, he glanced from Light to Misa.

As he positioned himself into a small computer chair, he swiveled it to Light-kun's direction. This was the best opportunity he had to pop his question, as Light had just accepted something equally as unexpected as L's proposition.

"I'm glad to see you two are getting along." L tried to sound conversational.

Light considered the detective for a moment, then nodded.

L stared at the brunette for a moment longer before addressing the young man again.

"In that case, I have something to ask of you both before I depart for England." The detective glanced at Misa and swiveled his seat to a position that made it easier to address both people.

He took a long sip of coffee from a dark blue mug before continuing.

"I would like you two to come with me. To England, of course." He added as he saw astonished looks appear from both people beside him. "I'll be returning to a rather large home, so room would be no problem." His voice remained steady, like that of someone discussing their own opinion on the news to a college.

Light seemed to be frozen on the spot, mouth hanging open a little and his eyes wide. Misa took on this expression as well for a moment, but quickly recovered and smiled. "Sure!" She sounded positively delighted.

Light now seemed to grab hold of himself as he shook his head rapidly, obviously waking up. "Go with you…to England?" His reply was steady yet cautious.

"Yes."

"Both of us?"

"Yes"

The brunette was now leaning forward with one elbow on his knee. "And do what exactly?"

L stared at the young man before him, as if implying that his reasons were obvious. Secretly, he wanted to keep an eye on Light. But this sounded a little too inhuman, even for L, so the detective had convinced himself that the real reason was that he enjoyed Light's company and found him to be useful.

"To help with cases. I'm sure you find this better than taking up a job as a policeman." He then turned to Misa who has listening intently to L's words. "And you would help too, of course." L thought for a moment, then added, "With keeping Light company, I mean. And you might maybe--"

"I'll go!" Misa blurted out, "You really don't have to explain, I know what you mean." She giggled gleefully.

L smiled back at Misa politely before replying. "Good. Then it's decided. We leave at 6:00pm November 5th, today that is." The detective once again turned his head expectantly towards Light.

The young man seemed utterly dumbfounded. "I haven't even said 'yes' yet!"

L smiled playfully. "Well, you were going to anyway it seems. You just said so yourself." He looked down at his watch. "It is now two forty-three. You have plenty of time to collect your belongings."

Light started to utter a complaint, but L put up a hand signaling for his silence. The brunette sat up , crossing his arms and closing his eyes in apparent frustration.

"I have already consulted your families. They know that you are coming with me." stated L matter-of-factly. "They were a tad bit surprised, but accepted it as long as you did." He was addressing Light now more than Misa.

With that, L removed himself from the triangle and headed toward a table offering food.

Grabbing an apple, he set off for the upper floors and toward his own room.

That went rather smoothly, he thought.

- - - - - - - - - -

After L's announcement, everything seemed to speed up as time often did when you dreaded something. Light had everything already packed when he returned to his room. This was because he had thought he was going home. He sighed and fell onto his soft bed and began starring at the ceiling, waiting.

Before Light knew it, it was 5:30.

Light wasn't quite sure why he was doing this. His mind was rather blurry.

Before long, he noticed that he was no longer in his room.

Light was sitting next to Misa, with L and Watari directly behind them. The plane shuddered dreadfully as it prepared to take off. He stared out his window blankly.

He was heading to England. Where in that country, he realized he did not know.

But whether he wanted to or not, he was going there.

And as Japan started to sink away from underneath him, Light closed his eyes.

He stopped thinking. It was easier to just accept it.

Today was the fifth of November.

Today could have ended so differently.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

**Author's Note**: I know Misa would never act this way, but since Light is so different, I decided that Misa should be too! And I want a female main character. I mean, really. The meaning behind November Fifth, is that that is the day L would have died. Yay. -sarcasm- I finished this 'bout midnight, so I'm kinda out of it. But everyone knows that art, no matter what kind, always comes out better at night.

I haven't even read it through yet -laughs- Enjoy


	3. Overkill

**Godforsaken**

**Chapter Three** – Overkill

**Notes: **This story, not necessarily this chapter, contains: spoilers, violence, death, and minor language.

**I do not own Death Note or any of its characters.**

Light gagged on his tongue and awoke reluctantly.

The young man groaned and lifted a hand to his face. Hastily wiping away drool, he glanced at his watch. It was barely three in the morning, but the sun was already shining through his small window.

A light, airy voice floated out of speakers and into the crowd of people, most of which were scrambling to gather their various possessions.

"We will be landing in 10 minutes," the woman on the intercom yawned before continuing, "Please gather your items and put on your seatbelts. Thank you and good morning!"

There was a click and the rows of seats seemed to come to life.

Yawning, Light stretched out his arms. Shoving a magazine onto the floor, he began to gather his things.

After fumbling with his headphones, which had somehow found their way into his pants, Light sat up and looked around. Misa, who had apparently fallen asleep leaning on his shoulder, was fussing clumsily with her hair.

Behind him Watari was putting away a laptop while L sat beside him, gazing out the window listlessly.

"Good morning, Light-kun."

L was still staring out of his window, but the effect was the same.

Light returned himself back to a sitting position before replying. "'Morning."

He didn't want to talk to L right now. He would wait until they were safely on the ground or in a car before asking questions. Light was still curious as to where they were going. The plane was going to land in London, so it must be somewhere close. Or at least, he hoped.

- - - - - - - - -

The trip through the terminal had been hell.

L sighed in relief as he seated himself in the jet-black car that had been waiting for them in front of the airport. He would be glad if he never had to fly again.

Light and Misa were seated behind him, both looked about ready to pass out.

Even if they had only sat for their entire trip, it was still exhausting.

A tired silence fell over the car, broken only by the occasional honk of a horn. For this, L was thankful. Light-kun seemed too tired to ask questions right now. In fact, he looked like he could barely keep his eyes open.

It would be quite entertaining, watching the young man react to where they were headed. Even Light, almost L's equal, could not possibly expect what was ahead.

People's reactions were one thing out of few that could make his day.

As they made their way through the maze that was London, L took a deep breath.

It was good to be home.

- - - - - - - - -

Light opened his eyes.

The sun was now high in the sky. Outside of his window, countryside fields and knots of trees flashed past in mirthful blur. The blue sky was in brilliant contrast to the orange and red leaves that covered the ground. For a moment, he was content to just watch the scenery pass.

The trees and air just felt so different, so crisp. So foreign…_foreign_…wait…

The car had started to slow down in front of a large mansion, whose brown roofing and white paint seemed to glow. Sitting up straight, Light gazed at the three story building. It must be L's, he thought. Did one guy really need such a big house?

Misa was stirring beside him and gasped once she had a chance to take in their surroundings.

L and Watari were already at the front door when it occurred to him that it was time to get out of the car.

Stumbling out of the car, he started up the path toward the brilliant manor.

L had disappeared inside the home when he reached the door. Grabbing the doorknob, he turned it. But before he could do anymore, it swung inward and Light fell flat on his back, gasping under the weight on his chest.

- - - - - - - - -

L heard the 'thud' that marked his win.

Grinning a little, he set down his suitcase and headed toward the kitchen for some ice cream.

- - - - - - - - -

Mello doubled over laughing.

He never thought Matt would do it!

Gasping for breath, he stumbled down the stairs. Holding his sides and still laughing, he watched the scene below unfold. Mello felt a little sorry for the guy who had just got the wind knocked out of him, but as long as it wasn't him he didn't care.

"That's five pounds, Mello!" Matt was sitting on the man's chest, a big grin on his face.

"I'll give it to you later…Hey, who is that anyway?" The blonde was now standing beside the redheaded boy.

Matt shrugged. "Dunno. I still want my money though." He held out his hand pointedly.

The blonde sighed and dug around in his pocket before handing a crumpled 5£ note to his companion. With another grin, Matt got up and joined Mello at the foot of the stairs.

- - - - - - - - -

Coughing and with his arms shaking, he sat up slowly. He lifted a hand gingerly to the spot where the kid had tackled him.

"What…was _that_ for?!" It took Light a second to fill his lungs with air again.

Sneering dominantly, the blonde boy made a 'tch' noise then raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really expect me to have a reason?" He laughed haughtily.

The boy with the red hair nodded, then pulled a video game out of his pocket and began to play. His friend didn't seem to mind much, and continued to smile.

Misa had finally caught up and let out a small gasp at the sight of Light sprawled out on the concrete doorstep. She cooed quietly as she set down her things and started to help him up.

"What happened?" There was a note of entertained surprise in here voice. "Did you trip?"

"Nah. He just got beat up by a kid." The blonde kid had taken a step toward the couple. He pushed a little of his long hair out of his face before continuing. "Who're you anyway? How'd you get here?"

"They're clearly with L, Mello…or is it only obvious to me?"

A flash of anger crossed Mello's face as he spun on his heel to face the staircase behind him. There, on the top step, stood a boy wearing white pajamas. He was rather smaller than the other two and was twiddling a lock of shockingly white hair between two fingers. His whole image screamed 'fragile'.

Mello's expression was calm, but it was obvious how much he detested the little boy.

"I'm sorry if I got a little emotional. People normally do that every now and again."

With a final glare, he turned his attention back on the couple. Light had just gotten up when he sighed with relief. L was entering the room holding a glass bowl overflowing with vanilla ice cream.

L feigned a frown as he looked around. "I see you've decided to make a lasting first impression." He lifted a spoonful of ice cream to his mouth.

At his voice, the red head pried his eyes from his game and promptly turned it off. He looked around the room with renewed interest as Mello shrunk back slightly.

Light shifted his gaze between L and the group of children. What the hell was going on?

"I suppose you're wondering, Light-kun, why there are children in my home."

He paused for a moment before continuing, licking his spoon.

"They're orphans." And as if the matter needed no further explanation, he turned his back on the room and walked away. Behind him, Misa shifted uncomfortably. "We should…get our things…right?"

"Yeah." He turned around to leave. Behind him, he could hear very faintly the voice of the blonde boy scolding the albino. "Dammit, Near! Why'd you have to go and do that?!"

Light couldn't hear the retort, but he guessed that it was another insult. Prying his bags from the car and closing the trunk with his elbow, he followed Misa back up to the house.

When they entered it again, Mello and his friend were waiting for them.

"Your rooms…come on, Matt…" He crossed his arms and headed up the stairs, Matt in tow, who was still smiling.

- - - - - - - - -

Their rooms were across the hall from each other. After following the boys up to his room (after which Mello curtly ran off fuming), he had begun to unpack his things. Light's room was a pale red-brown with rich, dark, wooden floors.

A large window with red curtains let in the last rays of light as the sun began to disappear behind the horizon. His suitcase lay open on a desk opposite the bed, which was a red that matched the curtains.

He even got his own bathroom.

Light sighed. He was standing next to the window rigidly. Every fiber in his being wanted to be gone. Wanted to be far away from here.

It felt like he was intruding, as if he had just walked in on someone having a private argument and was asked to stay and give his opinion on the matter.

The whole day felt so off. He let out a sigh before plopping down on his new bed.

Clinging haphazardly on the edge on consciousness, he recounted today's events.

Maybe, tomorrow, he would talk to L.

That would be nice, he decided as he closed his eyes.


	4. Measures

**Chapter Four **

**Measures**

"Oh, come off it, Matt! We've already made it this far." Mello whispered. "You can't back out now." It sounded more like an order than a request.

Matt was standing behind Mello holding a bucket of flour. The rising sun cast long shadows on the wood floor as the couple stood facing a door.

"I just don't know, Mello…he didn't really look like the kind of guy that would take a joke…", and as he said it Matt knew that Mello would never back down from a challenge (or prank as the case may be), so he didn't put much effort into persuading him.

A wolfish grin spread across the blonde's face at once. "That's why we're here."

Without another word, he snatched the overflowing bucket from Matt's slipping grip and looked around once more, as to be sure that they weren't being watched.

Mello nodded at Matt, signaling for his move. Slowly, quietly, they entered the room, cringing at every creek that emanated from the door. Their socks padding along silently, they continued onward and began the setup.

"This is stupid…" Matt murmured to himself while positioning a number of strings. "This is _so_ stupid…"

- - - - - - - -

Light woke up reluctantly.

Lazily, he sat himself up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His clock told him it was two past twelve.

Sliding out of his bed, Light walked toward the bathroom entrance. Putting a hand on the back of his head and yawning, he began to get himself ready for the day. It only took about fifteen minutes, as his appearance was of little consequence today.

Slipping into a pair of jeans and a tan sweater, his mind began to wonder.

He knew that he would be helping L with cases, but what would Misa be doing exactly? She couldn't possibly help on cases, no. Light let out a silent laugh. Probably house work, he decided. Could she do even that? Taking one last look at himself in the mirror, Light turned on his heel and started toward he door.

Putting his hand on the doorknob, he stopped suddenly. Better to be safe than sorry. Tentatively, he opened the door just enough to where he could see into the hall.

No sign of any orphans. Relaxing his grip on the knob a little, Light pushed it open all the way.

The soft sound of strings rushing past wood and the metallic creaking was barely audible, giving consideration to the fact that Light was paying very little attention to the ceiling above him at the moment.

As if to punish him for letting down his guard so easily, a cloud of white fell upon him, releasing a soft 'flump'.

Tears bean to well in his eyes as he coughed on the refined dust. Stumbling blindly forward and hacking, Light felt around for something stable to hold onto. Damn it. He should have been more careful, he thought as he lowered himself slowly to the ground with the help of a side table.

Slowly, his breathing began to steady and his mind began to contemplate the possible ways to fix this.

He could go downstairs and tell L, he would probably know the best way of disciplining those idiots.

No. Going downstairs was a definite no. Light would not give L or anyone else the satisfaction of seeing him caked in baking ingredients. Frankly, he was surprised at himself for even considering it for a moment. He didn't need L, especially not for something this stupid.

Shuddering at the sensation of flour scuttling down his shirt, the man stood back up, straightened his sweater, and walked calmly back into his room, leaving the behind him a hall dusted delicately with white.

- - - - - - - - - -

"You'd almost think he'd at least have the decency to wake up today…"

Mello yawned and proceeded to munch away slowly at his chocolate bar. Across the couch from him, Matt nodded, half-way between paying attention to his friend and clacking away animatedly at his game controller.

"Yeah…"

"I mean, we went to all that trouble, setting up those wires…"

"Mmhmm…"

"D'ya think he found it? I mean, maybe he's smarter than he looks."

Matt shrugged dismissively. "Do I really look like I know?" Mello snorted obnoxiously, "Quite the contrary, my friend." Sliding off the couch, he proceeded to yanking the controller out of Matt's hands and unplugging the PS3 with an air that suggested he had done this multiple times before.

Matt sighed disappointedly, "Y'know, you could've at least let me save…" Mello smiled as he put the system back into its place, "I know."

Matt watched Mello deflatedly as he stood up, stretching his stiff limbs casually. The redhead sighed exasperatingly as he began to leave the room, not bothering to wait for his friend to finish cleaning up.

His footsteps stopped abruptly though, bare feet making a quiet skidding noise on the wooden floors. Turning on his heel, he darted back toward Mello and gave him an urgent tap on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry I'm not as fast at this as you are, would you like me to move ---"Exactly how Matt would have liked Mello to move, he never got the chance to express. Walking toward, no, there was a spring in his step. Practically _skipping_ toward them was a very, almost cynically, happy young man. The smile was a little too large though, a little too enthusiastic.

Grabbing Matt by the wrist, Mello began to move forward stiffly. _Shit, shit, shit….. _

He could feel the hesitation in Matt's steps as Mello dragged him onward tactlessly.

The two parties passed each other, time seemed to stand still. The two boys cringed. The only thing more audible than their own heartbeats was the anger emanating from their foe.

Just as they made it past Light, _just_ as they had reached the limits of the man's gaze, a completely dubious voice rang clearly through the room.

"Why is there flour right outside my room?"

_Near._

Standing in the main hallway with a deceivingly innocent look on his face was Near, twiddling ever so laxly with a lock of his hair.

But, surprisingly enough, Light continued on as if no one had addressed him.

Mello could hear the sigh escape from Matt as he himself allowed his grip on his friend to loosen, and finally cease. Curling a trembling hand into a fist, Mello hurried up to Near, and grabbing him by the collar, pushed him against the nearest wall.

"Do you have any idea what you could've done just now?! Why don't you just stay in your room and play with your jigsaws like a good little freak should?" His voice was low and quiet, but filled with malice all the same.

Near only stared back into his eyes dully, limbs limp against the wall.

"You are usually the cause of such strange happenings, so I assumed that you of all people would know."

There was not as much as a hint of discomfort or fear in his voice. Of course, this only made Mello feel angrier at the little twit. Shoving the smaller child to the floor, he stormed off, gait jagged and careless. "Just stay out of my way!" His voice shouted from the end of the hall.

Naturally, Matt was left in the awkward position of deciding whether to follow Mello or help Near from the floor. He let out a breath of agitation. Why was he the only one who didn't feel the need to fight with someone else?

Crouching down in front of Near, he awkwardly put out his hand. "Sorry about that." Near looked up at Matt expressionlessly, but nonetheless took hold of his hand. Pulling him upward with ease, he stood back and watched as the smaller child repositioned his sleeves slowly.

Near looked up at him with cold eyes, "Don't be. It's not your fault in any way."

Matt shrugged him off nonchalantly. "You're welcome." He smiled warmly before turning around to search for Mello.

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Author Comments

I haven't written anything forever, and I'm sure you have all forgotten about me. I apologize, but my inspiration comes in spurts. Although I make not promises, I do think another chapter is on it's way. Keep in mind please, we're all busy, and I can't manage time well.


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